Terry Jones: Denis Shapovalov ready for prime time

It’s prime time for Denis Shapovalov. Maybe that ought to be his nickname. Prime time. Canadian captain Martin Lauredeau made Shapovalov Canada No. 1 for the Davis Cup tie against India that opens in Edmonton Friday and when the official draw was done, much to the delight of organizers and Rogers Sportnet, it put the […]

Canadian captain Martin Lauredeau made Shapovalov Canada No. 1 for the Davis Cup tie against India that opens in Edmonton Friday and when the official draw was done, much to the delight of organizers and Rogers Sportnet, it put the charismatic Canadian tennis shooting star in Position A for delivering numbers.

The draw left Canada’s rocketing 18-year-old phenom vs India No. 2 Yuki Bhambri on the early evening match Friday in the Northlands Coliseum.

That will likely be about 6 p.m. local and 8 pm. Eastern — smack dab in prime time for Rogers Sportsnet.

Shapovalov has produced exceptional TV numbers for the network in the last six weeks of his 18-3 run that included victory over Rafael Nadal at the Rogers Cup in Montreal and began the just-completed U.S. Open defeating eighth-seed Jo-Wilfred Tsonga and becoming the youngest since 1989 get to the fourth round at a U.S. Open.

The draw also put Shapovalov up against India No. 1 Ramkumar Ramanathan in the 1 p.m., Sunday opening singles match, the fourth of the best-of-five series, which is excellent for both TV and tickets as well.

The tennis world is waiting to see if a week off the roller coaster will affect Shapovalov and if transitioning from playing for himself to playing for his country will have an effect for the young man who imploded at the last Davis Cup tie in February in Ottawa.

The non-tennis crowd wants to see if his celebrity has lost any flavor on the bedpost overnight.

India isn’t making any secret of the idea they’re hoping that the difference in playing for yourself and playing for your country will put the brakes on Shapovalov’s sensational streak since losing at Wimbledon.

But there’s the other thing to consider here.

After a palpitating six weeks of play, he’s taken a bit of a break here now.

He’s been forced to take his foot off the gas. Will he be able to just pick up and continue the roll?

“He had to rest his body and his mind,” said Lauredeau who is also Shapovalov’s personal coach. “Even before Montreal, he played — and won — in Gatineau. That’s a lot of tennis for a young guy who is still growing. Rest was first and foremost for him to get ready for this and the rest of the fall on the tour events on the calendar.

“He hasn’t had a long break. He’s played a lot of tennis this year He’s our No. 1 guy. He has great momentum. He’s feeling well and playing well.

“He’s coming in really fresh. Obviously, it’s recent memory so he doesn’t have to dig too far back to find his feeling coming off a great summer run.”

“He’s super-excited to contribute and to play for Canada. He wears ‘Canada’ with unbelievable pride and passion. He can’t wait to get on the court.”

With Shapovalov in prime time here combined with the announcement Wednesday that the Coliseum will close its doors Jan. 1, it begs the question if there will be an attendance spike here.

The record attendance for a Canadian Davis Cup is 21,482 from Canada-Great Britain in Ottawa in February with the previous best 17,805 from Canada-Spain in 2014 in Vancouver.

The pre-sale, 24 hours before the 2:45 opening ceremonies and walk-up sales, was 3,527 for Friday, 3,466 for Saturday and 3,881 for Sunday.

“I’ve been working to get this event here for four or five years,” said Gavin Ziv VP Professional Events for Tennis Canada and Tournament Director of the Davis Cup. “With hockey in Canada it’s so difficult because Davis Cup needs nine days to put the surface in and for the players to practice on the court. With no hockey in this building it became a great opportunity for us.”

Tennis Canada says they are on target to reach expectations.

“We scaled it for about 6,000 so we’re happy going into this with about 4,000 people per day,” said Ziv.

As for the record with Northlands closing and Shapovalov prime time factors?

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